Stephen Curry is very close to making his return for the Golden State Warriors, and just in time for their series against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Chris Haynes of ESPN has a great story about how Curry participated in his first full practice since suffering his MCL sprain back in late March.
The plan seems to be for the Warriors to see how his body responds to this practice and the practice scheduled for Friday.
Curry will be reevaluated on Friday, and that could theoretically be the affirmation that he can play in game 1 on Saturday.
The coaching staff was impressed with how Curry looked during the Thursday practice, and he’s been listed as questionable for game 1.
Curry would start for the squad in game 1 if he’s cleared to play, although it makes sense that there might be some limit put on his minutes to ease him back.
This development comes just a few days after Steve Kerr refused to speculate on whether Curry would be ready for game 1.
Kerr had previously been very direct about Curry’s status for the first round, so the lack of commitment to rule him out of any game that series spoke volumes.
The first hurdle has been cleared. Those who observed the Thursday practice were impressed by how he looked. It’s possible that he could suffer a setback from now until Friday, but it’s all just speculation at this point.
Another solid practice on Friday would put Curry in a great position to be cleared for game 1 on Saturday. It would certainly make the task at hand easier for the Warriors if they had Curry for the entirety of the series.
The Pelicans are riding the momentum of a series sweep against the Portland Trailblazers. Curry would provide the Warriors another powerful weapon to utilize.